Gp are quite sensitive, if they are not used to travelling they can get stressed, more over insufficient space or smaller cage oso can make them feel stressed. how old are your GP? you can try but if you see any sign of stress like refuse eating, weight lost, diarhea(um i dont know if this spells right) you should avoid doing so. my 3 females are used to traveling, so its not a problem for them, but i only start bringing them along with me when i feel like they already bond with me, um around 3months after i bring them home.

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Added on February 6, 2009, 1:43 pmmy gps does that too...he's enjoying himself i think. when GP are happy they will run n jump(popcorn) like they are in fire, so cute n pelik oso hahaha if there are more then 1 gp in a cage oso became more haywire...they'll run n chase and jump onto each other untill the bedding n pellet oso terbang.....


This post has been edited by kaoru himura: Feb 6 2009, 01:43 PM

yup thats right. if you keep them comfortable they'll just stress a bit only..

here's my male abby, Shiro(white/orange) and Shiki(agouti) they are adorable and since its my frist time handling male gp, i see some differences in their character if i compare with my gurls...n to me they bond with me easier than my females...


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hi sorry for the late reply...i currently have 7GPs including the 2 i adopt from you... they are now mixed well with my other GP, no more shy2...

but sadly i have to inform you this, 1 of the GP i adopt from you (Nettie the female) is having some kind of skin disease. i noticed it just now as i groom her for the first time, i saw white flakes on the skin area, at her back. there is also 1 part thay lost some fur and the skin shows bare with thw white flakes surrounding the area....it looks like dandruff flakes, and its alot too...i never saw this in any of my other GP. but her case looks severe so i have to isolate her for the time being....

can anyone tell me what this disease is and how to cure it? from what i read form this site : http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=18+1800&aid=2998

"T. caviae causes severe scratching and self-trauma. There may also be hair loss, thickening of the skin, redness, and papules. This mite usually affects the head, shoulders, back, and flanks of the guinea pig, but may spread to the entire animal. Secondary bacterial infections can occur. The itching is so severe that some animals may appear to have seizures or other abnormal behavior. Severely infected pregnant guinea pigs may abort. Some guinea pigs may carry the mite, but show no signs. Then, if they are stressed by poor nutrition, cold temperatures, or other illnesses, they may develop disease. The mite is transmitted by direct contact, and can temporarily infest people.

An infestation with T. caviae can be diagnosed by a veterinarian performing a skin scraping. The mites can be difficult to find, and the veterinarian may prescribe treatment solely based on the clinical signs of disease.

The most common treatment is ivermectin injections every 10 days for three treatments. Animals in contact with the infested animal should be treated, as well. The mites can survive in the environment, so it is recommended that the housing be cleaned and then soaked in a lime sulfur solution at a dilution of 1:40 (one part lime sulfur to 40 parts water). Dry everything thoroughly before placing the guinea pig back into his housing."

i suspect poor Nettie has Trixacarus caviae. my lil sister developed an allergic reaction towards her, as after my sis hold nettie some reddish "benjol" like mosquito bites will appear on her hands and where nettie touched her...and maybe thats is what the article meant by "The mite is transmitted by direct contact, and can temporarily infest people."

can this be self treated by pet owner? can applying ivermectin direct on the infected area can help or i really need to jab her? and where can i find lime sulfur? hope anyone can help, i'm worried about Nettie, she's just a little gurl...plus the other GP can get infected too...

thanks for the info...may i know where to get tht shampoo? izzit the shampoo you mentioned before, and the production is discontinued?can you sell a little of the shampoo to me?

dark_twilight>>> its ok, i'll try to cure her asap...she's a little darling and i really hope she'll get better soon

colincsf>> i suggest to quickly change the food, as the content of the previous food you gave them are not good for GPs. nuts and grains especially. i did bought and gave my gp the exact brand you gave to them long ago, and my gp have bad experienced with kuaci...when she try to eat it the kuaci stuck between her teeth and upper lip...she struggle like crazy until i oso became mega-panic.... they oso did not gain weight as much as a growning GP should, i guess its because lack of nutrition. other from Hagen pallets and timothy/alfalfa hay, you should gave them some fresh fruits too, for vit C you dont have to gradually change the food, just completely remove the old food and replace the pellets, they will learn to eat by themselves. Hagen pellets are good as they the pellets have fresh sweet smell that might lure ur gp to eat it.

Hagen pellet is i think 1 of the best for gp.
1) coz its easier to get the Sluis/Kaytee/Prestige/other brands plus its reasonable price too
2) cos of the size>>big and crunchy pellets GP love to chew on, can help trim their teeth oso
3) the smell of fresh ingredient>> the pellets are in secure-sealed bag, easy to store, and you can smell the sweet freshness on the pellet, they smell like green, fresh hay. even if i open the pellet bag far from my GP they oso can smell and wheek2...begging for it haha

Hello everyone~~~! so long since i last visit here, i just got back frm the general hospital, admitted for denggi...so glad to make it out alive...miss my GP babies damn alot~! oh we're gonna hv a gathering? nice but too bad its in Saturday, i already start work tomorrow ar.... T_T u guys please takes lots of pics n post here ya~!

btw got question...the ministry of health will do fogging in my area, i wonder is the fog dangerous to our dear GPs?i heard they use water-base solution (they did it once when i'm still admitted), there was no thick white fog while the process it done my mom said, only got faint smell of the medicine...

she "sorok" all my GPs, gerbils and hammy in the kitchen and told the guy not to spray that area, but still i'm worried if the traces of fogging will harm them.

male + male oso humping each other, its normal behavior actually. usually the dominant or more aggresive male will hump the other male. u should check the sex carefully, the difference is obvious actually. the males got balls below the genital organs, 2 soft sack while female dun have.

just get the kitchen scale ok d...i weight my GP twice a month, after bathing n drying them. my 8mths-10 mnths old GP is about 500-650 grams, while the 3-5 months are around 400grams wieighing GP is recommended to monitor their health, you can detect if their sick or if there is some problem with their diet if you see drastic changes in their weight, like weight loss might means they are sick or low in nutrition. Monitoring their weight can help you to find the right balance when you change their diet due to their age, like switching the percentage of alfalfa and timothy hay.

aha my gps like cherry tomato, watermelon skin, carrot, parsley, kangkung, capsicum and pak choy. i found out recently that they dun like apple much...if i gave them they only eat a little and then left the apple scattering on the cage floor T_T

This post has been edited by kaoru himura: Mar 18 2009, 01:38 PM

For pellet i suggest the HAGEN brand as always. its big chunk, gp love to chew and it smell like fresh hay. As for hay i recommend Oxbow, but honestly in my opinion the brand comes second. what is important is the freshness of the hay, the greener and fresher, the better. Try to avoid buying brownish hay, it might already lost most of its nutrition. hope this helps

hi FeonFeon~! ur first GP is an bicolor abyssinian (Abby). Um no offence here but i dont agree with ur statement about local gp dies easily. i guess it depends on how the owner cares for them, and the origin of the GP itself (the quality of the breed, inbreeding...) 1 have 7 GPs, 3 abby, 1 american satin(normal satin) and 3 american (normal gp) they are all healthy, so does my first GP Yui who is closest to me . there are easy to take care as their fur are not so thick n long, they are much more hygenic than abby (in my observation), less lice and health problems, and easy to bond with then my abbys. all my normal gp are very manja wan, and my abbys are quite jumpy hihi. loves to watch them as they have unique personality. but one thing i learnt from my observation is abby is abit smarter thn normal, cos its easier to teach abby a trick than to teach a normal gp. my shiki (abby male) learn the "spin" trick after only a few minutes, but my normal GPs just so lazy to spin, they just drag their butt lazily when i teach thm...haiz...

This post has been edited by kaoru himura: Mar 18 2009, 03:35 PM

aha i mistakenly click the "submit" button before finishing the post...sowi... the post is already updated

hmm...since you got quite a few diarrhea cases with ur GP, can i ask you daily GP diet? how many times a day and what you feed them in every meal? with this maybe we can find the cause.

a good diet (i should say the best) for GP is lots of hay, some pellets, and a correct amount of vege and fruits in 3-4 meals a day. for my GPs i practice 60% hay, 30% pellet and 10% fresh fruits/vege. morning before i go to work i put lots of hay and a big bowl of fresh mixed vege n fruits (cut to small cubes and pieces) around noon i ask my mom to fill the pellet bowl and add summore hay, and at night a little more mixed fruit n vege. the amount of vege should not be too much coz this may cause diarrhea (my estimate amount is a cup of mixed vege/fruit per meal per GP) my abby Nao just recovered for diarrhea becoz of too much vege (she keep begging for it and i'm too soft to resist...)

you should know wht type of vege/fruits you should or should not give them. too watery fruits or vege (like jambu air, watermelon skin) u can give but not regularly. watery food can cause diarhea also. Raw vege/fruits should be thown away after 24hours or when you see them soiled.

aha yes do give ur GP boiled water, not normal tap water. Deworming ur GP can help prevent digestive disease too. hope this helps

um about the diet, i'm not very sure bout mixing thier original diet with good food in the beginnig, so duuno if this should be practice or not...oh Bengy food really tht bad? wow lucky i didnt feed my darlings with that....so far Hagen is the best for my gps. i've seen Sluis but nv tried them, Sluis looks nutritios and the packing is noce too, but kinda expensive

This post has been edited by kaoru himura: Mar 18 2009, 04:32 PM

i dun understand at all why the seller put the worg genetic....n look how muddy and dirty the cage is...summore rm 50 for a normal gp....haiz.... kesian wor tht gp...T_T

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Added on March 19, 2009, 4:52 pmyes Xueki-san, GP is Tikus Belanda in malay...;p

This post has been edited by kaoru himura: Mar 19 2009, 05:04 PM

oh so sad...may the baby RIP.....

i suggest if you want to find companion for Lisa, its better to find a female partner. I'm not an expert but in my observation my females are supportive and bond to each other. be strong ya, you should focus on recovering Lisa's mood again, let her be comfortable again then you find her a partner if you want to. Give Lisa n yourself time ya, rushing might not help much. go go chia yo~!

This post has been edited by kaoru himura: Mar 19 2009, 07:07 PM

wow so cute~! um but tiny for a 4months old...make sure you provide them the best and pump them up when u got them ya~!

oh no so many pets selling GP in bad condition, pity those cuties.....

my Yui is pregnant...i'm very worried coz her age is more than 9months...please tell me is late pregnancy can be successfull? will my yui's life be harm? her tummy is very big now, i did saw her development and suspected tht she's pregnant middle last month, but i dont know when to aspect her delivery...i did research on how to assist n monitor her but i'm still worry that i'll lost her. i wish she will be fine n safe , thats the most important now.

oh Lisa is at that age during her first pregnancy? hmm maybe i read too much n make myself worry sick? when i think about Yui's life is in danger when she deliver makes me cannot sleep...i hope what you say is right...thanks alot ya~

Thank you very much for youe encouragement....i will take more caution on her as she became plumper and the stomach is hard, i can feel the babies move inside her too~! i really hope everything went on smoothly. for now as i read tht GP usually give birth around dawn or dusk, i'm trying to check on her frequently during those hours...i'm now thinking of moving her into my room so i can watch her closely. i really want to be by her side during her delivery, hoping to help her if she need.

Thank you Juztiny-sensei I see now i know the birth time is not tht predictable...then i sure have to move her to my room tonite, besides she is familiar with my room so hopefully there will be no problems...um should i put one her cagemates with her to my room? will she feel lonely if i just bring her alone to my room?coz currently she live with Shiki (her husband) and another 2 female (Nao n Cyndy) so maybe i should let one of the female or shiki to accompany her in the temperory cage?

This post has been edited by kaoru himura: Apr 8 2009, 06:13 PM